“Were you talking about Bonita? Is there any pain somewhere?”
Up until now, Bonita seemed perfectly fine. It wasn’t always the case that illnesses manifested externally.
During Elodie’s time, she always suffered from similar pains despite appearing fine on the surface. Aria’s heart fluttered with anxiety, wondering if Bonita might have some problem resembling her.
“Well, I need to see to know for sure… Will Miss Hilton stay by her side too?”
“Is that allowed?”
“Miss Bonita relies heavily on Miss Hilton. It would be emotionally beneficial if you could stay by her side during the examination.”
Thanks to that, Aria could sit beside the child while Rebecca examined Bonita.
Rebecca, with a stethoscope, checked Bonita’s heartbeat and then took her temperature.
“Your temperature seems normal. Would you like to try saying ‘ah’?”
Bonita obediently opened her mouth. Rebecca, examining her mouth and nose, confirmed that there was nothing unusual.
“For now, it seems that, visually, the bronchi are all clear. Miss, did you mention not tasting the cookie for a while?”
“Yeah.”
“Hmm…”
Rebecca explained with narrowed eyes.
“The most likely possibility is that your sense of taste was temporarily affected when your nose was blocked for a while. You said you felt it again after a few hours, and if there were no other issues apart from that, it probably isn’t a significant problem.”
After saying that, Rebecca still grinned. The phrase Bonita mentioned, ‘not tasting it,’ continued to bother her.
“Is there anything else uncomfortable for you? Sudden body pain or coughing?”
Bonita recalled a time when her head hurt while studying, but somehow, it felt embarrassing to say.
It seemed to look like a tantrum to avoid studying. Besides, judging from the fact that she quickly got better after stopping studying, it didn’t seem to be a problem caused by feeling unwell.
Seeing Bonita shaking her head, Rebecca took off her stethoscope and prepared medical tools.
“Then you should be fine. I’m going on vacation again, but if your physical condition worsens urgently, please contact me immediately. After all, our residence is nearby.”
“Is it really okay?”
Rebecca laughed briefly at Aria’s worried expression.
“It’ll be fine. Children’s bodies are generally weaker than adults, and it was a temporary phenomenon.”
“Alright…”
Aria sighed with relief as she stroked Bonita’s head.
“Compared to the Duchess, Miss, you seem to be quite healthy. It looks like you’ve inherited His Grace’s health.”
“Wasn’t Mom healthy?”
Rebecca smiled wryly at Bonita’s question.
“She was often, quite frequently, unwell.”
Upon hearing that, Bonita looked at Aria. Despite hearing a lot about Elodie’s affection during her time as the Duchess, there were not many people who talked about the times she was unwell.
Mom being frequently unwell was both worrying and saddening. After Rebecca left, Bonita stuck close to Aria and spoke.
“Mom, are you not in pain now?”
“I’m fine.”
Aria, realizing Bonita was showing concern, felt a heartwarming emotion that was difficult to express.
It was always like this whenever Bonita showed concern for her.
Aria gently spoke while brushing Bonita’s hair away from her eyes with her thumb.
“Aria’s body is strong. That’s why I can stay with Bonita.”
“But your wrist got hurt.”
Aria, momentarily stiff at the complaining words, soon displayed an ambiguous smile.
“When a person like that presses, even if you’re healthy, your bones will break.”
The titles like ‘His Grace’ or ‘Your father’ that she used for the Duke changed to ‘a person like that.’
In fact, this was evidence that Luke hadn’t completely lost his rationality in this matter. If he truly had, Aria’s wrist would have shattered, just as he claimed.
It wasn’t particularly comforting, but it was a fact.
As Aria touched her wrist, her expression turned teary.
‘No, but is she angry?’
“Elodie, I won’t let you die like this. I’ll save you. Definitely. I’ll use any means necessary.”
“Whatever appearance you take, I’ll recognize you immediately. And you’ll fall in love again.”
‘She said she’ll definitely save me? She said she’ll recognize me no matter what appearance I take?’
But what is this situation now?
Flames flickered in Aria’s eyes.
‘Are you really that foolish!’
In this way, despite being so young, Bonita, who had never seen herself as Elodie, immediately recognized her true identity.
But how could Luke not recognize her?
The more she thought about it, the angrier she got.
“Mom?”
“Sure, Bonita.”
She embraced Bonita while laughing heartily.
“Let’s have a good time together while that person is not here. Oh, didn’t you say you wanted to assemble the steam engine set?”
Bonita affirmed.
“If it’s Mom, I’ll let you do a little bit. Just a tiny bit.”
“What an honor?”
Bonita mumbled softly.
“I was told not to let Dad touch it at all. I’m the only one who can handle it.”
“All the more reason to feel good.”
Aria sang a little tune as she went to the playroom with Bonita.
After Being Cheated On, She Picked Up a Treasure (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The husband I married on a whim had been secretly in love with me for a long time.
On the day when Jun Shao finally obtained the imperial decree for her marriage, Lan Qu, the person she had admired for six years, defied the decree and ran away.
Her gentleness and devotion, her promise of a lifetime together, were all disregarded by him. Instead, he dreamed of entering the palace to serve the Emperor’s sister as a sixth-rank attendant.
News of this incident spread throughout the capital, and the alleys in front of and behind the Lan mansion were crowded with people who came to watch the commotion.
Jun Shao should have been embarrassed and angry.
But someone stepped in to protect her dignity.
The figure was in a miserable state, yet still possessed an undeniable elegance and handsomeness.
The young lord struggled to climb the wall of the Lan mansion and shouted to her, “If he won’t marry you, I will!”
So, Jun Shao took advantage of the situation and married the person.
She thought the young lord did it to save the Lan family from the crime of defying the imperial decree, but never imagined that from beginning to end, what he coveted was her.
*
After the wedding, Jun Shao felt like she was living in a dream.
Her Wife-master was as beautiful as a fairy in a painting, skilled in the six arts, well-versed in poetry and literature, capable of being gentle and attentive, and also grand and dignified. Most importantly, she was the only one in his heart and eyes.
Jun Shao didn’t know how Lan Shiwu, as a illegitimate son without a father and blessed with beauty, had managed to preserve his purity, recklessly escape, and use his last ounce of strength to ruin his own reputation, all because of his love for her, just to stand before her.
She could only see him gazing at her with eyes full of love, and when she bestowed a name upon him, his eyes shone like stars.
“You have come to me like a weary bird perching on a branch. I shall call you A Qi.”
